The indoor tanks on my oil burning furnace ran dry without me knowing it. I got them re-filled, but although the blower kicks on for maybe
15 secs it shuts off. There is no flame. Somebody I know said I need to reprime the line.
Is this something I can do? I'm a pretty good handyman, but have never encountered this.
It's really getting cold and the Oil Heating Co. that supplies me says they're backlogged and don't know when they'll get here. Meanwhile the temp inside is 49 degs. My fish have died. My wife has fibromyalgia and she is in al lot of pain because of the cold.
Odd thing is that the oil company has a contract and THEY let the tanks go dry. When they eventually get here, do you think I should pay them for the service charge? Thanks.
Most likely. It's actually really easy on the Becketts. I'm not sure about others, but I imagine they're the same. Right under or near where the oil line goes into the pump there should be a bleeder 'nipple' nut. Get a good catch pan underneth this and open it up about 1/2 - 1 turns. Start the furnace and wait for the oil to stop spluttering and pour a constant stream. Turn off the furnace, tighten the nut, and you're all set. Check to make sure the nut is not dripping after you fire the furnace back up or you'll have a smelly house, and high heating bills. I don't re-use the oil as it always seems dirty when I look at it afterwards.
Start looking for a new oil company. They let you run out, they should finish the job. Happened to me once and the guy delivering did not leave until the heater was back up and running.
You have to open a bleed on the pump to get the air out. I've only ever seen it done a couple of times so I don't know the specifics of your setup. Before doing this, you will have to push the reset button as it will go out when it does not fire.
No, you should not pay for a service charge for their error. Ed
Thanks for the replies. There were only 2 things on the burner that looked like they could be useful. One looked like a large brake bleeder. When I turned it open a bit and reset the blower (which turned on briefly) nothing came out. Seems to be no pressure in the line. The other things was just pipe fitting which I turned out -- a little bit of oil came out but nothing much. Evne when I turned on the blower, nothing more came out.
On Mon, 20 Oct 2003 20:26:11 GMT, "houseslave" wrotF:
What you are resetting is the burner control, and its designed to shut off if the sensor does not register light...its a simple optical sensor.
Now...not knowing what burner assembly you have, the large brake bleeder screw is the one you want to open.....matter of fact, take it out and DO NOT turn on the furnace, but insure that its not clogged. If not, turn it back in tight, back it off about 2 turns, and if you have it, snug a section of vac hose over it and direct it into a pan or cup, or something to catch the oil..reset the unit, and wait..it might take two or three tries, and you have to remember, those are designed to pump oil, not air, so it might take a bit.
IF with a full tank, you are still not getting oil, check the obvious...filter, line shut off, etc, and make sure you have fuel. IF, the lines open, and its not pulling after this, and all shut offs are open, and the filters not clogged, it could be that the strainer inside the pumps clogged, or, you have a bad pump.
As far as wanting the oil company to pay for your running out of oil...even with a service contract, they have no way of knowing you are running out other than previous years consumption. If you are set up for a Nov fill, and its cold in October, your contract may not allow for that, and it would be up to you to call to request a tank fill. No..I think it is silly for you to ask them to pay for the service call, and I think it would be stupid of them to actually charge you for bleeding a line if the units easy to get to.
You also might have gotten sludge in the line when the tank was empty. Or your filter canister might not be air tight. Put your ear next to it when the pumps running , if you hear air-you've found your problem.
If you have a 2 pipe system bleeding is not necessary.
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